Washoe County’s Karma Problem: Why Does Leadership Keep Protecting What They Refuse to Fix?
Watchdog Extraordinaire Phil Tenneson called this out Karma Box Projects Washoe County Contract on social media on December 7th. Come on Washoe County fess up why are you not up in arms.
Bad karma is piling up fast — and it’s coming straight from Karma Box Project. Yet somehow, no matter what happens, Washoe County keeps circling the wagons to protect them. The question practically asks itself: why? What does the county know, what are they hiding, and why is no one in leadership willing to act?
Let’s lay out the facts that Washoe County Human Services Agency and County Manager Kate Thomas don’t seem eager to talk about:
Matthew Grimsley, a Karma Box employee working at the Safe Camp, identified in booking logs as being taken into custody on November 22nd, was arrested on a third offense domestic battery charge with a $50,000 bond. Reports also indicate he may have an outstanding warrant in another state. If true, that should have been caught immediately.
And here’s where the county’s responsibility becomes unavoidable:
Contract Item #18 (we’ve made the executed contract available at the end of this article) requires background checks on all employees.
All. Not “some.” Not “when convenient.”
All.
So how did a person with this history end up supervising the Safe Camp at the Nevada Cares Campus? The only two explanations are:
Karma Box didn’t follow the contract, or
Washoe County never bothered to enforce it.
Neither option is acceptable — especially when Karma Box Project is overseeing one of the most vulnerable populations in Northern Nevada. Plus many Safe Camp residents are seniors, meaning they are twice as vulnerable. These are people the county is supposed to protect, not expose to unnecessary risk.
And yet, Washoe County continues to shield Karma Box and its director, Grant Denton, from accountability. Why?
Is it convenience? Is it relationships? Or, like we saw with the Trio senior food contract — which provided meals so bad they were barely edible — is this simply laziness disguised as “continuity of service”?
Because the pattern is getting impossible to ignore:
Vendors fail.
The county renews them anyway.
Leadership shrugs and collects a paycheck while vulnerable residents pay the price.
County Manager Kate Thomas has the authority to fix this. The contract gives the county clear power to terminate Karma Box Project and bring in a provider who actually follows the rules and protects the people they serve.
At this point, the public deserves answers — and action.
Because Washoe County doesn’t just have a Karma Box problem.
It has an accountability problem.
And it starts at the top.